Sunday, 10 May 2015

Lush Cauliflower Curry

I adore Indian food. In our house there's nothing more exciting or tempting as having a delicious curry, whether homemade or takeaway. Although I do prefer to make my own, I love getting an Indian takeaway for the wealth of veggie options. We tend to order in a little feast when we do! Fresh ingredients are an absolute must when cooking Indian, lots of vitality to soak up all the delicious spices. My favourite thing about this Lush Cauliflower Curry is the slight sourness. Feel free to use dried turmeric, ginger and so on, but if you can get hold of the fresh roots you're onto a winner. It's a nice slow-cook in the oven which gives it a deliciously deep flavour and texture.

This recipe serves 4 with breads, I used ready-made chapatti's to serve with mine but of course you can also use rice. I actually made it to serve 2 and kept the second half in a container in the fridge which will keep for 2-3 days. Perfect for a quick week-night dinner. You will need:1 Cauliflower1 large White Onion1 thumb-sized piece of fresh Turmeric root1 thumb-sized piece of Ginger4 small Garlic cloves4 dried Curry Leaves1 tsp Garam Masala1 tsp Cayenne pepper½ tsp ground Cardamom½ tsp ground Coriander1 tsp Black Mustard Seeds½ tsp ground Cumin1 tsp Salt flakes4 med-sized Yellow Tomatoes6 Cherry TomatoesSachet of Creamed Coconut or 1 tbsp Coconut OilTo garnish: Fennel tops, Mint leaves, Black Onion seeds.Firstly set the oven to 180°c Roughly chop the onion and add to a food processer, chopper or pulser. Peel and finely slice the ginger, turmeric and garlic then add to the onions. Then add all the spices and give a few good pulses until it's a coarse paste. Don't worry if you don't have a food processer, I'd suggest finely chopping and grating all the ingredients and mixing together well. Leave the salt, pepper and curry leaves out at this stage.On the hob, put a casserole dish on a medium heat. You'll need to make sure you use a dish with a lid. Melt the creamed coconut or coconut oil then add the paste. Move around the pan releasing the aromatics for 2 minutes before adding the curry leaves and cooking for another couple of minutes. Dice the tomatoes and add to the dish, lower the heat slightly and let them cook down for 5-7 minutes until soft. Keep stirring throughout to ensure no serious sticking. Make up 500ml vegetable stock and add to the pan. Mix everything together well and bring to the boil. In the meantime break up a whole head of Cauliflower into florets. Once boiled bring the heat back down to a simmer and add the florets, spooning over the sauce. Put the lid on your casserole dish and then into the oven for 2 hours.Take the curry out of the oven a couple of times during cooking to stir and make sure it's the right consistency. You don't want it to be too dry too early on and if it is I'd suggest using a little more stock and / or turning the oven heat down. For the final half hour of cooking I take off the lid and up the heat to 200°c to brown off the tops of the cauliflower slightly. It also reduces the sauce nicely to give it the perfect saucy consistency. Once out of the oven, taste and season with salt and pepper. Scatter some ripped up Mint leaves, Fennel fronds and Black onion seeds then serve with your favourite bread or rice accompaniment... and Enjoy!!